• June 21 down the years

Villeneuve pips rivals in Jarama

Gilles Villeneuve celebrates winning the Spanish Grand Prix © Getty Images

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• Drivers:
• Alberto Ascari
• |
• Piers Courage
• |
• Ayrton Senna
• |
• Sebastian Vettel
• |
• Gilles Villeneuve

1981
Fans at the Jarama circuit in Spain witnessed one of the closest finishes in grand prix history. Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve surged through the field from seventh to lead by lap 14 with a tail of car running loosely behind him, led by Jacques Laffite. Villeneuve was quicker on the straights but was having to work hard to fight off challengers in the corners. For the final 18 laps the field was nose-to-tail but Villeneuve managed to hold them al off to win, the first five cars all crossing the line within 1.24 seconds - the second closest race in the history of the sport at the time.

1986
Ayrton Senna qualified on pole for the Detroit Grand Prix and promptly left the circuit so he could watch France play Brazil in the World Cup quarter-final, leaving a tape of his comments about the lap for the press. Brazil lost on penalties but Senna won the race the next day.

1970
Piers Courage died at the age of 28 after an accident at Zandvoort. When Frank Williams Racing Cars decided to make the step up to F1 in 1969, Courage was the automatic choice as driver. In Courage's hands, Williams's dark-blue liveried Brabham BT26 was more than a match for many of the works teams. He finished second in both the Monaco Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen. Perhaps his finest drive of the season though was during the 1969 Italian Grand Prix at the high-speed Monza circuit. For the 1970 Formula One season, Williams switched to a newly-designed De Tomaso chassis, which used magnesium to lighten the chassis. Running in the middle of the field Courage inexplicably slid wide on a bend, rode up an embankment and rolled upside-down, bursting into flames. The magnesium burned so intensely that nearby trees were set alight. Investigations revealed that Courage probably died before the flames started; his helmet was found at the point of impact with a large smear of rubber on the front, most likely from a wheel detached on impact. Courage participated in 29 grands prix, achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 20 championship points.

2009
Sebastian Vettel won the British Grand Prix from team-mate Mark Webber and Rubens Barrichello. Vettel dominated from start to finish as Webber leap-frogged Barrichello's Brawn during the pit stops. Championship leader Jenson Button endured a difficult race, finishing sixth having dropped three places to ninth after the start.

1953
Alberto Ascari won the Belgian Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio started from pole and streaked away from team-mate Frolian Gonzales and Ascari's Ferrari. But the two Maseratis encountered engine problems, leaving Ascari to coast to victory from Luigi Villoresi and Onofre Marimon.

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